


Dressed In Black

by dark_desire



Category: The Maze Runner (Movies), The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types, The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: A Bit of Fluff, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst and Feels, M/M, Slow Build, strangers to enemies to friends to lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-03-05 10:39:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13386090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dark_desire/pseuds/dark_desire
Summary: Thomas is a high school senior. Newt is a newcomer.What do you do, when one thing you are desperately trying to run away from, is the one thing you actually need?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys! So, I'm new on AO3 (writing-wise) and this is my first Newtmas story, I love this couple very much. This is a just a (really) short intro to the story, but all chapters will be much longer.  
> Hope you'll enjoy! :)

_Hold on. Stop everything you’re doing._

_Why are you here exactly? There’s really only one reason a person would come to this place. You are seeking for a story. Whether it’s to pass time in that math class or to lull you to sleep. Maybe you’re just bored. It doesn’t matter. You came to the right place._

_So, turn your TV off, put that duster away and sit down. Make yourself comfortable. This could take a while._

_Now, before I start, we must get a few things clear._

_This is not a Rob Reiner movie. It’s not a romantic sitcom._

_And most definitely_ not _a Nicholas Sparks novel._

_So be prepared you might not like what you find here. It may not mean anything to you, may not be the kind of story you usually search for. Hell, I don’t even know if it’s gonna make you smile and laugh, or cry and get angry at times. Everything’s possible._

_This probably won’t be your ideal bedtime fairy tale. Because really, this is no fairytale at all. This is simply a story of a boy who discovered the biggest secret of the universe._

_Only to have life take that secret away._

_Honestly, don’t get your hopes up._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weeell, this was a promising introduction. :D English is not my native, therefore all mistakes are mine. I really hope you guys will enjoy this story and please feel free to comment or ask me anything you want and I'll get to you as soon as I can. :)


	2. The Red Ducati

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of senior year and Thomas sees Newt for the first time.

_The sound of an electric drill._

_Traffic chorus on a_ _busy Monday morning._

_Chalk on a blackboard._

Nails _on a blackboard._

_The Squeak of my bathroom door hinges._

_Mrs Simpsons’ voice._

_Nope. Definitely no. The most annoying sound in the world_ has _to be this._

 

His palm hit the alarm clock, knocking it to the ground. Thomas groaned in exasperation. If he felt this way on the first day it wasn’t a good sign. God, he shouldn’t have played Sonic Mania with Chuck for that long. Convincing little brat.

Rolling off his bed he cracked his spine, slightly releasing the tension in his back. He pressed both palm heels to his temples, failing to push a headache away. The floor was cold against his bare feet as Thomas dragged himself to the bathroom, flinching when he opened the squeaking door. He should really fix it.

He turned on the faucet, splashing his face with freezing water in an attempt to wake up. He then lifted his head and one look in the mirror proved him he looked exactly how he felt. _Man, I hope a shower will fix this a little._

Surprisingly, after cold and uncomfortable rinsing he felt much fresher, though circles under his eyes persistently stayed. Brunet quickly blowdried the mess of his hair, then threw on his jeans and flannel shirt before taking his backpack and rushing downstairs. His mom was already up, putting what looked like his favourite turkey sandwich in a paper bag along with an apple. His little brother stopped eating his cereal the moment he noticed Thomas coming into the kitchen and rushed excitedly to hug him, knocking the air out of his lungs. “You look like crap.”

“Thanks, Chuck,” Thomas ruffled boy’s fuzzy locks who smiled in return. “Morning mom.”

“Morning honey,” the woman smiled at him sweetly. She was a beautiful brunette with the cutest dimples and amber eyes, just like Thomas’. “You look tired. Slept well?”

Thomas looked at her begrudgingly, not missing her knowing smirk. She told him last night, he had to give her that. “It was my last day of summer. I wanted to spend more time with my brother before my whole teenage life went to ruins,” he smiled cheekily, even though he wished to go back in time and finish the game at least at 11 pm so he wouldn’t feel like a zombie today.

“Hell, yeah!” Chuck fist bumped him.

“Dad at work?”

“As usual. He’s coming at 4 today so you better be here for lunch.”

“I will,” Thomas bounced impatiently in front of the counter when the familiar horning came from the outside. “Okay, gotta go mom. See ya later.”

He grabbed the bag from her hands and turned to run when she voiced, “Hey, boy! You forgot something?”

Thomas spun around again and kissed his mother on the cheek before rushing to the front door as they yelled _good luck_ after him.

 

* * *

 

“Our first day as seniors shank!” Minho practically screamed from where he was leaning against his light blue Toyota corona as he waited for Thomas. “Hurry the hell up, I don’t wanna miss anything because of you!”

Thomas smiled brightly at his friend and gave him a side hug. “Someone looks cheery this morning.”

“Of course I’m cheery!” Minho moved from the door so Thomas could get in and walked over to sit in driver’s seat. “It’s the first day of our last year in this shithole of a town,” he put his seatbelt on before turning to Thomas and sending him a significant glare. “We might as well make the most out of it.” The Asian boy winked at Thomas, who smiled, before starting the car.

“So, what are your plans for this year Min? Are we gonna throw a party at that abandoned warehouse again? Or is it an empty pool this time?” Thomas chuckled.

“Pffft, man. We are _way_ over that. That’s like… for juniors.”

This time Thomas couldn’t hold his laughter. Minho really knew how to make his day better and that was something only a few were able to do. Thomas heard the boy continue talking, but his mind was already elsewhere. _Senior year_ … _I wonder if anything significant will happen this year. Or at least interesting. Well, yeah… Minho’s parties, but…_

“-All come. So, what do ya think?” _shit, I zoned out again. What was he saying? Something about tonight? A party?_ “Uum, yeah sure,” Thomas nodded slowly, not exactly knowing what he was agreeing to.

“You didn’t hear a word I said, did you?” Minho asked, but he didn’t really seem annoyed by it. The poor boy was already used to Thomas’ behaviour.

Thomas smiled sheepishly, “I’m so sorry Min. I got distracted a bit.”

“Yeah, yeah… Anyway, I said we must throw a bonfire tonight at the shore while the weather is still nice. Invite all seniors and everyone else who’s willing to come. It’s gonna be an epic opening of our final year man!” Minho threw both hands in the air with excitement and brunet chuckled.

“That sounds awesome actually. I like bonfires, bonfires are fun. Definitely better than nightclubs.”

“Pfft, nightclubs are for –”

“Freshmen?”

Minho turned to Thomas abruptly. “See, I _knew_ there was a reason you are my best friend. It almost makes me want to forgive you for never listening to me. Almost!” the Asian emphasized with his index finger pointed at the brunet.

Thomas barked a laugh. Yeah, he was glad Minho was his best friend too.

 

* * *

 

As soon as Minho found a parking spot he turned the engine off and boys started towards the main entrance. Kids were scattered all around. Teenagers in groups laughing together, maybe reminiscing their holidays. Probably excited to see each other again. Most definitely planning a party-style reunion for the weekend.

Thomas loved these days, the very beginning of every school year. Not because he was particularly excited about classes or seeing his professors – especially Mrs Simpson – he simply liked the way everyone seemed so… _happy._ He liked watching them (in a not creepy way of course) only admiring their excitement. There were no problems, no fights (which usually tended to come later when everyone grew tired of having to get up early every morning). No one seemed worried about exams or graduation yet. It was beautiful to hear so much laughter. Damn, even Gally’s cackle from somewhere behind him wasn’t completely unpleasant.

 _Everybody_ radiated with happiness. Ev- 

Thomas frowned slightly when he noticed someone parking their red Ducati a few feet in front of him. He barely had any time to marvel the vehicle when, almost in a slow motion, the person took their helmet off, revealing a mop of messy blond hair and Thomas watched as a pale guy casually pushed it out of his face. Brunet unconsciously slowed down his pace, glaring at the other boy. He had a leather jacket on and worn down jeans with combat boots – _all black_ – and for some reason Thomas liked the way it perfectly contrasted his light hair, wondering if it was boy’s natural colour. The blond slightly leaned forward on his bike, crossing his hands as if to rest and – just as Thomas was passing by – lifted his head and looked him directly in the eyes.

Yes, everybody radiated with happiness. Except this guy.

 

     

 

Thomas slightly recoiled at the emotionless face staring back at him. His eyes were stone cold and even with the slightest crease his forehead was forming at this moment he looked younger, so Thomas supposed he was a freshman since he had never even seen him before. But, the way his eyes bore into Thomas’ sent a freezing shiver down his spine. _It must be the whole bad boy vibe._ And just as it came, it quickly disappeared and Thomas was left staring over his shoulder after some grunge guy who was now getting off of his bike, wondering what could possibly be on his mind to make him this passionless.

Thomas only snapped back when Minho shouted his name (probably for the third time). He looked at his friend, trying to hide his slight shock. “What?”

“Dude, you’re unbelievable.” Minho shook his head and tapped something on his phone before putting it in his pocket. “Let’s just find Teresa, okay? She’s waiting inside.”

Thomas apologized (again) and Minho shrugged nonchalantly. “Yeah, whatever.” He should really start paying more attention to what Minho is saying, the guy’s patience can’t be eternal.

Brunet tried to lighten up the mood again, hopping slightly on his heels. “Man, I can’t wait for the bonfire.”

“I knooow! Look, you and I need to go to the store for some booze after school. I’ll pick you up later, yeah?” Thomas smiled at how easily positive and upbeat this guy was. It seemed almost impossible to get his mood down.

“Sure! Just make it be after six, ‘cause I promised my mom I’ll be home for lunch.”

“Pfft, mama’s boy,” Minho joked, then yelped when Thomas punched him playfully on the shoulder. “Ouch! Correction, _tough_ mama’s boy.”

“Shut up!” Thomas yelled, but instantly broke when the other started shaking with laughter next to him. “You’re an asshole.”

The laughter only got louder.

 

* * *

 

Surely, Teresa was waiting for them, casually leaning against lockers while reading something on her phone (probably a NASA article on climate change or some interstellar object). “Hey, blue eyes,” Minho greeted her with a smirk and she immediately looked up with a smile plastered on her face. “Guuuys!” she hugged Minho and the Asian boy’s smile grew impossibly wider. “I missed you _so_ much.”

“Hey, Tess,” Thomas embraced the girl too, happy to see her again after almost a month she had spent on a family vacation. “You look nice.”

“Thanks,” she bowed and lifted the sides of her imaginary dress, “you guys are very handsome too.” Teresa was a beautiful girl. Simple as that, in every sense of the word. Her eyes were the shade of an ocean, the part untouched by human hand. Dark, almost entirely black hair cascaded over her shoulders in slight, long waves. She was tall and slender, but you would be wrong to think of her as weak and not ready for a fight (Thomas realised that the hard way, when they were only eight and he joked about her pale – _vampire_ – skin. He never made fun of her again.). But, other than her stunning beauty, she was also a kind, impressively bright and reliable friend, and _that_ Thomas also learned when he was eight, about two months after the infamous “vampire incident” when she punched Gally Gordon right in the face after calling Thomas a _skinny_ - _weak-buzz-headed-stick-in-the-ass-mother-lover._ He was pretty sure he would’ve been in love with her if he wasn’t slightly afraid of her. “But, daaamn, what’s that under your eyes, Tom? Who kept you awake last night?” she smirked at him.

“Ha-ha, very funny.”

“Was it Chuckita?” Minho interjected with a fake shyness and unnecessarily girlish blinking.

“You want your shoulder purple Minho?”

Teresa barked a laugh. “Okay, okay... we _aaall_ know Tom needs to nail something, but-”

Thomas choked, “Tessa!” looking around them to check if anyone in close proximity was listening to their conversation.

“-let’s wait until tonight’s bonfire at least. Maybe he gets lucky this time.”

Thomas covered his face in embarrassment, “Oh my god.” This was pretty much the gist of their friendship lately. Teresa and Minho having fun with his miserable (and non-existent) love life, and him having no choice but to deal with it.

Minho elbowed him, “I hear she’s single this year Tom-boy.”

“Oh, come on! You need to stop thinking about her Tom. There are other girls in the sea.”

Thomas mumbled in his hands, “Well, I only ever liked one girl in the sea, so...”

“No, look man, Tessa’s right actually. You really need to get over it. I mean, it’s been _three_ years!”

Brunet looked at his friends only when he heard (probably Teresa’s) loud clap somewhere near his head. “Okay, here’s what’s gonna happen. Tonight, you’re gonna kiss a girl.” She must’ve noticed Thomas’ attempt to protest because she intensely continued, “And _not_ Brenda! Any other girl who finds you at least a little amusing, which shouldn’t be hard since they’re all gonna drink. So, girl with a hazed mind, plus Tom, all chaaarming and irresistible,” she put her arms in the air at her sides, as if weighing the things she said before putting them together in a firm clasp, “equaaals, happy, satisfied, and if lucky, not-a-virgin-anymore Tom!” she finished proudly.

“Could you say that louder, I don’t think everyone heard you?!” Thomas spat at the girl who lifted her eyebrows innocently.

“Seriously shuckface. You ain’t ugly, but if you continue aiming all of your attention to the one person who isn’t reciprocating it, you’ll end up alone.”

They were right, he knew that. His friends only wanted to help, which added more pressure to the whole _approaching Brenda_ thing. So, he figured it’s best to cave than try getting out of their _plan_ and sighed, “Okay.” He felt even worse when they cheered in unison “Yeaaah, okay!” and “That’s my Tom-boy.”

“Alright,” Minho patted his back lightly, “let’s go to class already before grandma catches us with her death glare.”

Thomas hmphed. “Yeah. Don’t wanna see _that_ directed at me again.”

 

* * *

 

Teresa stopped in front of the classroom and turned to them. “Okay, I got science so I’ll see you guys for lunch?”

“Sure Tess,” Thomas nodded and Minho winked, “See ya later girl.”

She rolled her eyes at the Asian before turning on her heels.

Minho sighed looking after her, but quickly covered it with a smile. “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

Minho entered the classroom with both hands in the air, as if he was a king and expected everyone to bow to him (just a typical Minho) while brunet trailed after him. “Wassup shanks? Missed me?”

Thomas wasn’t surprised when cheers instantly echoed, “Yeeeah!”, “Minhooo!”, “Hail to the king!”

“Thank you, thank you.”

While _the king_ was immersed in greeting his fellow people, Thomas’ legs were pinned to the ground and his eyes to _her_. And now she was coming straight towards him. “Hey, Thomas.”

_Brenda._

The girl he liked since they were freshmen. The _only_ girl he ever liked, really. When Teresa and Minho asked _why her_ , Thomas never really knew how to answer though. Just... because. Maybe it was her attitude and the way she seemed so confident, yet not cocky (like Minho for example), or because she was one of the smartest girls in class (next to Teresa of course). Maybe it was her kindness or her big brown eyes. Or her short, boyish hair and the fact that she was probably the only girl who was able to pull that haircut off and still look stunning. Or maybe it was her smile. Thomas really didn’t know. But he liked her, and that was enough for him. If only he could manage to ask her out...

_She said hello, answer her. Say something idiot! Say anything!_

“H-hey, Br-… nda.” _Great. You just called her Brnda. You are pathetic. You should just go sit in a corner for the rest of your life and cry yourself to oblivion._

Brenda only chuckled as if she found his stuttering amusing. “How was your holiday?”

 _Speak!_ “Great, thanks. Yours?” _Well done moron, those were three words. You are making a progress._

“I’m glad, mine was awesome too. So, I’m guessing Minho’s throwing a party as usual? I heard something about a bonfire?”

“Aam, yeah. Tonight, at the shore.”

“Great!” she smiled at him. There was this glow in her eyes Thomas was sure she never had while talking to him before. He liked it. “You coming, right?”

“Uum, yeah... you?” _Is she really interested if I’m coming is this just a casual conversation with no meaning whatsoever?_ _Come on Thomas, she’s just being polite. My head hurts._

Brenda mhmed excitedly, “Cool! So, I guess I’ll see you there.” She smiled again and Thomas found himself unable to swallow.

“Yeah, see you there.” He watched her as she went to greet Minho too, the knot in his throat persistently staying.

Thomas put his backpack on the table and with slightly shaking legs set down, still in disbelief from the encounter. “Oh, boy. This year is going to be _fun_!” the Asian set abruptly in front of him, then fist bumped someone again with a _Hey, man_ , before looking at bewildered Thomas. “Whoa, what happened to you?”

Thomas tried putting it off as _nothing_ , but he was unable. It was something. It was _huge_! Brenda talked to him! “Uum, Brenda said hello.”

The Asian faked a surprised look, opening his mouth so wide a whole fist could fit in. “No way! When’s the wedding?” the bastard cackled and Thomas punched him again, this time a bit harder. “Okay, okay, sorry.” Minho rubbed his arm in pain and turned serious. “I mean, that’s good shank. You’re talking, it’s on. Now, you absolutely _need_ to make a move tonight.”

“Wha- but what about, you know, all the other fish in the sea and stuff?”

“Who cares about that dude? If you finally have a chance with the girl you like you need to strike.”

“A- are you sure?”

“Oh my-” Minho rubbed his face hard in irritation. “Dude, if you don’t do something about it tonight, you’re out. For good. Some other guy is gonna _swoop_ in,” he did a weird, almost angry hand gesture, “and then you are history. Just stop overthinking all the god damn time and do something. I mean, come on, she obviously gave you the green light.”

Brunet sighed, pondering over his friend’s words (‘cause it was Thomas after all, he was never _not_ thinking) then firmly said, “You’re right. I’ll ask her out. Tonight.”

Minho threw his fists in the air excitedly and Thomas chuckled. “Yeaaah! That’s my Tom-boy!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I was very much inspired by this photo of Thomas Brodie-Sangster on his bike so I just had to put it here, plus Dylan's photo is also amazing and kinda perfect for the moment, so... though it would be cute... I dunno. Hope you guys liked it and of course kudos and comments are very much appreciated. :)


	3. Name's Newt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas meets Newt. Sort of.

“So, what do you think I should say?”

“For the last time dude,” Minho covered his face with both hands, then sighed tiredly. “Stop _thinking_! Just approach her, tell her she looks nice in… whatever she’d be wearing and ask her if she wants to dance with you.”

“Dance with me? Min, this is not Jane Austin and we’re going to a bonfire, not ballroom.”

“Fine!” the boy threw his hands in surrender. “Do whatever you want then. Tell me how that turns out for ya.”

“Okay, sorry. You’re right.” Thomas knew his friend was only trying to help him cross this imaginary obstacle he kept putting in front of himself for no apparent reason. It really wasn’t that difficult. Asking a girl out. It seemed like the easiest thing in the world and Minho made it sound so simple. Then why wasn’t it?

Thomas was about to say something again when the classroom door opened and he suddenly felt cold, miserable and annoyed. _Why_ did his first class of the year have to be literature?

_Mrs Simpson._

He was pretty sure almost every person in the class groaned in unison. The woman was simply unbearable. _Just one more year. Then you’re free_ , he kept convincing himself.

“Alright children, quiet, quiet! Sit down.”

She was old. Very old. Which wasn’t the problem, really. There were other old professors in his school, like Mr Harris for example, who was kind and funny and his long grey beard made everyone call him Santa Harris. But Mr Santa didn’t have an annoying voice and head as big as a freaking watermelon and he also never put a ton of ridiculously bright and tacky makeup on his face – _Like that could ever cover all the wrinkles she got from hating everything that breathes_. And as if none of that was enough, she liked to add all of those irritably cringing things she always did. Like looking down at you (and probably mentally sending you a message that you haven’t answered the question right or that you’re unbelievably, irreversibly stupid), or squeaking “ _quiet!”_ every five minutes even though no one was talking (especially not loud enough for her prehistoric ears to catch), or that slow-motion clapping…

Thomas’ thoughts were abruptly cut off when someone knocked at the door. The next thing he saw was their principal coming in with an apology for interrupting the class, but the brunet stopped paying attention to him the moment he noticed a blond mess trailing behind the older man.

_It’s him._

_The emotionless guy._

Thomas slowly took the boy’s appearance once again, noticing things he didn’t have a chance earlier. Like how tall the blond was or how even though his leather jacket slightly buffed him around shoulders, he was still really slim. Principal’s speech echoed in brunet’s ears dully and far away, as if he was talking from a well, but he caught words _transferred_ and _new student._

 _Huh, I guess he’s older than he looks_ , brunet thought just as his eyes slid up from the blond’s arms to his long neck and as if suddenly hypnotized, Thomas followed the way his Adam’s apple moved up and down as the boy swallowed thickly. And as if ogling at some _guy’s_ neck wasn’t embarrassing enough, Thomas made a mistake of looking up, only to find the other boy’s intention on him. Again.

_Damn it._

As a deer caught in the headlights, Thomas immediately withdrew and directed his gaze to his notebook, pretending to write something down while mentally scolding himself. _Great, he’s gonna think I’m a creep. See, this is the reason you’ll never have new friends._

“Alright, you can sit down boy. There’s an empty seat in the back.” Mrs Simpson lifted her arm to show somewhere behind Thomas who kept drilling holes at his desk as the other passed by him, leaving a faint woody smell.

The rest of the class passed painfully slow and Thomas had a strange need to turn around a few times, but luckily refrained himself. He didn’t want to put more pressure on the newcomer like every girl in the class did since the moment he walked in. He also pretended he hasn’t noticed Brenda stealing glanced at the blond too. Three times. _She’s just curious. He’s new,_ he tried to convince himself.

Thomas sighed, then glanced at the clock above the blackboard and internally cheered as he realised there were only two minutes left. Two minutes that stretched like a lifetime. His fingers danced nervously on the table, counting down the seconds when Minho turned and rolled his eyes in annoyance. “Man, I really need this bonfire tonight, I’m so shucking bored and it’s only the first class of the first day. I need _alcohol_ ,” the Korean whisper-yelled.

As the brunet nodded in agreement Mrs Simpson noticed them talking and just as she opened her mouth to probably silence them, the bell rang and two boys grinned at each other in excitement. “Fiiinally!”

Thomas quickly grabbed his stuff and threw them into the bag, watching amusingly as all of his classmates did the same before they turned, still sitting in their chairs, to look at the Asian guy in front of him expectantly. Thomas bounced his knees impatiently, waiting for Mrs Simpson to exit the room and as soon as the loud thud of the door echoed, Minho stood up as if he just got burned and went to stand in front of everyone.

Thomas glanced at the new guy behind him, expecting to see a familiar expression on his face, but unlike the most of the greenies, this one didn’t seem anxious, only confused as he frowned slightly at the weird crowd around him, waiting for something to happen or someone to get up first.

Then his attention was refocused on his friend when the guy clapped his hands loudly and theatrically cleared his throat. “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the final year of this klunky school.” Thomas couldn’t believe this guy just used his little brother’s slang.

Minho grinned proudly when everyone cheered and excitement filled the room. _This is it,_ Thomas thought, _the final year has officially started._ Because there was no beginning and no end to any school year if there was no Minho there to announce it properly.

“All right, all right!” The Korean kid waved his hands in a _please-calm-down_ manner. “So, as you’ve probably already heard, there’s gonna be a bonfire tonight at the shore. There’s also gonna be alcohol,” he gave a pointed look as if saying _obviously_ , “ _Lots_ of it! But, you’re always welcomed to bring _more_. The whole school is invited, so if I see only _one_ person missing, especially among the seniors, they’re gonna have a _big_ problem tomorrow, so y’all better warn your friends because this, _my_ friends, is going to be the biggest. The _loudest_. _Craziest_ bonfire you’ve ever witnessed in your miserable little lives!”

And yet again there were _woohoos_ and _cheers_ yelled as everyone finally stood and Thomas waited for his friend as the guy high fived a few classmates on his way, before hugging the brunet as they gave each other claps on their backs. Thomas chuckled as he pulled away, punching his friend playfully in the stomach. “Good speech, man,” he said as the other guy laughed.

“Whoa, whoa, there,” Minho then exclaimed, putting his palm firmly on someone’s chest to stop them from going any further. Thomas looked to his side and saw the blond there, waiting patiently for Minho to continue, seemingly unimpressed by Korean’s speech. “Hello, greenie. Look, I know you’re new and all, but you’re invited too so you better be there, yeah?” Minho looked at the guy sternly, but the small smirk was still visible on his lips. “If you don’t know how to get there, just ask anyone for directions. Or follow the music, ‘cause like I said,” he turned to Thomas, his grin getting bigger, “it’s gonna be _loud_. Plus, you should consider it your welcome to the Glade town greenie.”

“Name’s Newt.”

Those were the only two words out of the guy’s mouth. Serious and stern.

Minho smiled amusingly, apparently liking a newcomer and all Thomas could think was – _What kind of a name is that?_ Not that it was a stupid name or anything, just… weird. Different. _Interesting_.

“Well, nice to meet ya, Newt. I’m Minho,” he introduced himself, then nodded in Thomas’ direction, “This is Th-”

“Minho!”

The Asian turned behind to see who was calling him and Thomas watched as _Newt_ casually passed by Minho, not even sparing a glance in Thomas’ direction, obviously not caring in the slightest. Like Thomas was freaking air. The brunet thought of it as very rude, but then again not so surprising considering a complete disinterest from the blond. Thomas scoffed and took his bag before pushing his friend (who was still obliviously chatting with one of their classmates) towards the exit. “Come on, man. We’ll be late for the next class.”

***

“I’m home!” Thomas shouted as he closed the front door to the house.

“In the kitchen!” he heard his mother yell back as he eased his shoes off with his feet before haphazardly dropping his backpack down next to them. He immediately followed the smell of fried chicken, his stomach growling in anticipation.

“Hellooo!” he saluted his mom and Chuck, who lifted his head from some anime he was watching on TV long enough to greet Thomas.

“Hey!”

Thomas stopped shortly behind the couch, looking over Chuck’s head. “Dragon Ball?”

“Yep!” Chuck excitedly clapped his palms a few times against his knees. Thomas chuckled, playfully ruffling boy’s hair, who waved his hand away, making Thomas smile even wider.

He turned to his mother and almost yelped from the current stern glare he was receiving. Her eyes were on him but she was still managing to keep chopping whatever green leaves were on the counter without cutting her fingers. _What did I do now?_ “Hey, mom.”

“Where did you leave your backpack, young man?”

 _Oh, no. She used the young-man card again._ “Uum… in the hallwa-“

“How many times do I have to tell you, honestly?” she asked exasperatedly, finally stopping the insane martial art of chopping, then pointed the blade at Thomas, not in a menacing way of course, but as a tool instead of her index finger. “ _Don’t_ think you can slack just because is your first day. Go and take it to your room, this is not a cowshed.”

“Okaaay, jeez…” the brunet put his hands up in surrender, “can I at least have some water first, my mouth is dry?”

His mom sighed and spun the knife vaguely towards the sink, giving him a “go ahead” before returning back to preparing food. “So, how was your day?” she asked while neatly sliding vegetables from a chopping board into a bowl.

Yep, that was his mom. One moment she’s the _mother_ , scolding him for getting a bad grade at school, ordering him clean up the mess in his room, sometimes even yelling at him for playing video games with Chuck for too long. But not more than a few seconds afterwards she’s his best friend, asking how his day was, showing interest in every aspect of his life, sometimes a bit too much for Thomas’ liking. He would never forget their first _use-protection_ talk, or more like _torture_. Yeah, some things you never want to relive twice.

Thomas gulped a glass full of water, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand at which his mom frowned. “It was good. Actually, Minho’s picking me up later. We gotta go to the store before the party to get some snacks and um… cokes.”

The woman arched her eyebrow, “Cokes…” she scoffed, but there was a tiny curl of her lips.

“Uum… yeah… among other things, ya know.” Thomas smirked, wiggling his fingers with a fake innocence.

His mom hmphed but smiled nevertheless. Thomas was lucky his parents were pretty open-minded. They never forbade him to have a drink with his friends from time to time. They were young once too, so they understood how it was. Thomas realised they were always more comfortable simply being aware of his whereabouts, but they trusted him and that’s why he never felt the need to lie. It was a good understanding between them and Thomas was satisfied with their relationship.

“Okay, just be careful,” she sighed and Thomas nodded excitedly.

“Of course.”

“Do you need some money?”

“Nah, that’s why I worked more hours over the summer,” he assured her and she nodded. Thomas went to wash the now empty glass. “When’s dad coming?”

Before his mother had a chance to respond there was a thud of the front door being closed before they heard something being knocked over in the hallway, which was followed by a loud scream.

“Thomaaas!”

His mom shot him a look and Thomas quickly stumbled out of the kitchen, yelling over his shoulder, “I’m on it!”

***

Thomas stabbed a piece of chicken with his fork, enjoying the familiar homemade meal. He wished he could eat his mom’s cooked food till he grows old, gets grey hair and dies peacefully with the taste of her chicken parmesan in his toothless mouth. ‘Cause honestly, _no one_ cooked better than his mom. Now thinking about it, he was really worried about all the shit food he would eat once in college. _College._ Thomas shook his head slightly, not wanting to think about the future now. There’s time for that starting tomorrow. Today is all about the party, drinking and enjoying himself. And maybe… _maybe_ asking Brenda out. God _that would be nice_ , he thought as Brenda’s sweet smile appeared in his mind, making him forget to chew for a while.

“So, party tonight, eh?” his father broke the silence, snapping him back to reality and the vision of Brenda’s soft features disappeared.

“Yeah, everyone’s gonna be there. It’s gonna be great,” he smiled. _If I find a courage to approach Brenda that is_.

“Great!” the man said with a mouthful. “Anything else new? School?”

Thomas shook his head, still chewing, “Not really, all pretty much the same. Tessa’s still pale as snow, Minho still the smartest idiot on the planet and of course,” he paused for effect, “Mrs Simson is still making us as bored and annoyed as a buoy in the middle of an ocean.”

“Thomas!” his mom reprimanded, but couldn’t hold a chuckle of her own. She went to school to meet the old lady two years ago after brunet’s endless complains about her – just to check if he was overreacting – but really to prove him wrong. She ended up apologizing.

“What? It’s true,” Thomas shrugged and his mom scoffed. “I know it’s true but you don’t need to actually say it.”

“Oh, come on mom. Not even you, the world’s biggest philanthropist, like her,” Chuck stopped eating long enough to chip in.

“Philanthropist? Aren’t you like… five?” Thomas joked, suppressing a laugh.

“Uum… shuck you,” Chuck shot him a dirty look, pointing a knife at him (second today), “and I read, you shank.” Thomas smiled fondly at words Chuck invented in order not to swear in front of their parents. But the kid was right about their mom. She was the sweetest, kindest person he ever had a chance to meet. She helped everyone in need, even if they didn’t ask for it, never wanting anything in return. It made perfect sense she chose to be a nurse. And on top of all that, she was definitely the smartest person too. Thomas was proud to say Trina Madison was his mother.

“Alright, alright,” his dad waved vaguely in front of his face, “but what I’m more interested in is – is there any new _girl_ in the class? Or are you still hung up on that Brenda girl?”

“Mark!” his mom hit her husband on the shoulder before turning to Thomas with an obvious interest in her eyes. “Well – is there?”

The brunet chuckled shyly, “Yeah, aah… no. Nope, no one new. And I’m not still hung up on Brenda!” he said defensively and by the look his parents – and Chuck – gave him, he knew he wasn’t fooling anyone.

“Okay big guy,” his dad nodded after a while, then went back to his food.

 Thomas remembered after a moment, and even though he wasn’t entirely sure why he decided to say it since they were clearly talking about _girls_ , he added anyway, “There’s a new guy though.”

“Oh?” his mom’s eyebrows shot up in interest.

“Yeah, but he’s all quiet. At first, I thought he was maybe shy or something, but I think he’s just a dickhe-aahblahgh…” Thomas froze in spot, glancing wide-eyed at his parents who were staring back at him. _Shit, I should really start using Chuck’s slang too._ “Sorry, slip of a tongue.” Thankfully they only shook their heads since Thomas wasn’t really the kind of person who swore in front of their family, but there was just something about that guy that pissed him off ever since the little _incident_ in school. _I mean, who just walks off like that? He’s new,_ he’s _the one who should be trying to make friends, not us. He can’t afford to himself to be a jackass to people if he wants them to like him._

“Why do you think he’s… _rude_?” his mom emphasized the last word, breaking his line of thoughts.

“I don’t know,” Thomas frowned, not really wanting to talk about the guy – _Newt, was it? What was that name, really?_ – right now.

“Well, have you spoke to him, or you’re just making assumptions about a person you haven’t even met yet?” the woman pressed.

 _He didn’t give me a_ chance _to meet him!_ “I tried, but he just… left.”

“Honey, you know not all people are as open as you are.” _I’m not really that open either,_ Thomas thought but decided it was better not to interrupt her. “You should give people a chance. Otherwise, you’ll never know what a true friend you could’ve had if you had only tried harder to approach them. People can be extraordinary, they can become more than your friends. Sometimes they even end up being your family.”

Thomas sighed. He knew what his mother was talking about. It was her own friend. The one she always spoke about with such tenderness as if talking about a lost child. “Yes, mom, I remember your friend Ava.” The woman looked at him with a sad smile and a hidden tear in her dark eyes.

“She was my family, Thomas. She still is, even though life parted us in different directions years ago.”

Thomas looked at his half-empty plate. Suddenly he wasn’t feeling that hungry anymore.

“Just try,” she ended softly.

_Just try._

***

Putting his snickers on, Thomas fumbled his jacket pockets to check if his keys were in there.

“Hun?” his mom exited the kitchen after him.

“I _know_ , don’t drink and drive,” Thomas recited and the woman chuckled fondly.

“You know it,” she took his free palm and put something in it, waiting for Thomas to open his hand.

“Mom, I told you, I don’t need any money. That’s why I worked for two months so I wouldn’t have to ask you guys for something as silly as a party.”

“I know that. But, I am your mother and I want you to have a nice time, because you only have one first-time-senior dance in your life. Plus, it’s not much.”

Thomas smiled at her affectionately. Putting the money in his pocket. “Thanks, mom,” he hugged her, enjoying in her floral perfume and a soft pad on his back.

“This is only for tonight though, you know that, right?” She put her hands on his shoulders, “Tomorrow I want you to grab those books, cause the next time I’m giving you any money is gonna be when you take off to college, clear?” She said seriously, but there was no menacing tone in it.

“Sure,” Thomas promised. He kissed her on the cheek when they heard Minho honking from his car. “Okay, I’m off now. Thanks again, mom.”

She winked at him and yell-whispered, “You look very handsome,” joining her hands together.

Thomas smirked, grabbing the door handle before turning to her again, “And by the way, it’s a _party_ mom, not a dance.” He chuckled at her fake insulted look before stepping outside, already hearing Minho yell “Hurry the hell up, shank!” at him.

***

The bell chimed as Minho and Thomas entered the store, announcing their arrival.

“Hey, Alec!” Minho saluted the owner of the little liquor place they always visited before parties. Mostly because it was the only one in town that didn’t ask them for IDs, also why it was always _Minho_ the one to supply the group with drinks every time they were out. And yes, Thomas found it utterly suspicious and he tried asking his friend about it a few times, but every time he would receive the same, simple answer – “Don’t worry about it”. And for some reason, Thomas felt it was better not to know. He was just glad his parents hadn’t forbidden him to hang out with the guy. _Yet._ But again, that was more them having thrust in Thomas than anything else.

“Hey, Minho,” the older man waved back. “Party again?”

“Hell, yeah!” Minho threw his fist in the air excitedly.

“Well, good for me I guess,” the other cackled.

“So, what are we getting, Min?” the brunet asked once they were browsing through aisles of numerous types and brands of alcohol.

“I was thinking a keg or two…” Minho spoke while checking a bottle of vodka, “maybe a few six packs too, or some vodka, depending on how much money we have.”

“Well,” Thomas took his wallet out and Minho snatched it from his hands before the brunet could even open it. He looked inside and took a handful like it were free chocolates. “Minho!”

“Look, dude,” the Asian rolled his eyes slightly before giving Thomas a look that just asked for his attention. “We both worked our _asses_ off over the summer for this. We _wanted_ it to be not just the biggest high school bonfire of the year, but the biggest _party_ in _town_ – _EVER.”_

You _wanted_ it, Thomas thought, but decided it was better not to interrupt the guy.

“You wanna wake up after thirty years and say to yo’ kids “Well, kids, it was a _good_ party”, or you wanna tell ‘em “Kids, it was biggest, the loudest, most amazing party I’ve ever had in my entire life, and it was all thanks to your uncle Minho”, huh?”

Thomas burst out laughing, ignoring the way his friend still glared at him. He didn’t understand why this meant so much to Minho, or why it meant to him that everyone they knew came, but it was interesting. A bit silly, but sweet in a way. Minho wasn’t a touchy-feely kind of person, but Thomas knew him better than anyone, and he was sure there was a lot more to it than just a _party_.

“Oh, what the hell… Let’s party!” Thomas shouted with his hands in the air and it was totally worth it because Minho smiled the same way Chuck did several years back when their parents announced they were taking them to Disneyland.

“Yeah! That’s my man!” the Asian yelled back as he lifted the brunet from the ground in a tight grip.

So what if Thomas was never really a big fan of parties? _This one will be different,_ he though, and not really sure why, he truly believed it. “Okay, you’re squishing me,” he muttered, even though he didn’t actually mind the affection.

“’K, let’s get those kegs,” Minho said once he released him from a bear hug. He started towards the corner of the store where big barrels of beer were always placed. “You think everyone will come?”

“Well… I seriously doubt that _every_ single student from our school will be there Min, but there’s definitely gonna be a _lot_ of people,” Thomas assured him.

“I sure hope so. Cause I was serious earlier about the consequences for those who miss this, especially from our class,” the Korean kept talking over his shoulder while Thomas trailed behind him. “I’ll make their lives miserable.”

“Are you sure you won’t be too wasted to even notice who came or not? Thomas chuckled.

Minho scoffed, seemingly offended and opened his mouth to retort before he realised he didn’t have anything to say.

“Plus,” Thomas continued slightly absentmindedly, his thoughts winning over his mouth, “I’m pretty sure I already know at least one person who won’t be there.”

“What?” the Asian spun around, stopping so abruptly Thomas bumped into him. “What do you mean you know someone who won’t come? Who are they? Tell me! We’re going over to their house _immediately_!”

“Uum… I don’t think we know where they live.”

“Please, I know where _everyone_ in our class lives,” Minho rolled his eyes, like it was an obvious thing to know.

“Pretty sure you don’t know where this guy lives. I don’t think anybody knows, really.”

“ _Who_ are you even talking about, man?”

“The new guy,” Thomas shrugged, watching Minho frown slightly, his brain probably trying to realise who he was talking about. “We met him today? Well, you met him today,” Thomas trailed off, “he disappeared before I cou-“

“Riiight, the greenie,” Minho snapped his fingers. “Yeah… I totally forgot about him,” he shrugged like it was no big deal before continuing in the direction of barrels again.

 _Forgot? How could he just forget about such a…_ rude _guy? Why didn’t I forget?_ “You don’t care if comes or not?”

“Well, I mean, I just tried to spook him a bit, so he’d consider coming, but no. Not really. I mean, he’s new and all, so…”

_Huh._

“I liked him though.”

 _Wha-?_ “You _liked_ that guy?” Thomas asked in shock.

“Sure, why not? Seemed fine to me back in school.”

 _Hmph, well yeah… to_ you _maybe._ Me, _he didn’t even look at._

“You didn’t?”

“Huh?” Thomas questioned, slightly zoned out.

“You didn’t like him?” Minho repeated his question as he checked price tags for kegs, counting their money.

“I don’t really know him.” The brunet already started feeling slightly agitated. _Why_ were they talking about this guy again?

“Well, if the bastard comes tonight, maybe we’ll have a chance to get to know him. Would be nice to have a new guy in the group,” Minho spoke before sending a shit eating grin Thomas’ way, “it would piss Gally off even more.”

_Yeah, maybe… if he lets us._

“Anyway, now’s not the time to think about that. What _you_ need to think about,” Minho pressed his finger against brunet’s chest, “is how to charm the hell out of Brenda tonight.” The guy wriggled his eyebrows and suddenly Thomas felt sick from the mere thought of actually, _finally,_ asking Brenda out.

“Oh, fuck,” the brunet sighed.

“Yeaaah, that’s what’s expected of ya buddy,” Minho clapped him on the shoulder, before turning to grab a keg. “Now come on, help me out with this.” But apparently, his friend saw Thomas’ completely perplexed grimace because he lifted from his bent over position. “Chill dude, everything’s gonna be fine. You’ll do great. Just relax and… try to have some fun.”

 _Just try._ For some reason, it wasn’t the cute brunette that passed through his mind at his friend’s words.

_Just try._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't hate me for the lack of Newtmas so far. It's coming really soon. Promise! :)


	4. Stranger in the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> * aka The Bonfire *
> 
> Thomas meets... someone.

It was loud. So loud Thomas almost felt blood oozing down his ears. There were so many people and since the population of his town was fairly small he was pretty sure most of them didn’t even go to his school.

After they bought all the alcohol they summer paychecks provided, him and Minho came straight to the beach to start getting everything ready. They were just done with getting drinks out of the car and stocking it in ice when Teresa came with Alby, Frypan and Winston, bringing the sound system they plugged in Minho’s Toyota.

When the group finally started the huge fire (which took them a lot more time than Thomas had expected) they all sat around it with their own glass of beer in hands, proudly looking at the work they’ve done while waiting for people to start showing up.

 

It was now a good hour and a half into the party and all Thomas had done since it had started was sit on a nearby log (where Minho had left him eight minutes ago to “go and get ‘em more beer”) and stare at the already tipsy crowd around himself. There were a few girls dancing around the fire, their out of tune voices overpowering the radio as they sang some electro-pop song Thomas had never heard before. Not far away from them, three guys were huddled together, muttering something to each other while repeatedly looking the girls up and down in a completely obvious way, which only seemed to make ladies more confident in showing off their dancing skills.

The brunet’s eyes suddenly landed on the person he was trying to find and avoid at the same time. He took a huge gulp of his beer, anxiety raising in the pit of his stomach, making him feel sick as he forced himself to breathe.

She was proudly walking towards the fire, chuckling at something Harriet was widely gesturing with her hands about. It was a beautiful sight, but it made him even more nervous. He started looking around frantically, not really knowing what he was searching for until his eyes landed on Minho and Teresa, waiting for their turn to pour beer next to one of the kegs. They both probably noticed Brenda, as well as Thomas’ terrified expression because Minho was staring at him sternly, his eyes huge and his mouth in a thin line as he subtly nodded in Brenda’s direction as if to say “Go talk to her, you idiot” (because Thomas was sure there was a silent _you-idiot_ there).

The brunet stood like he got stung, shifting his gaze back to the girl. He swallowed thickly and raised his plastic cup in a desperate need of more alcoholic booster, only to realise it was empty. He crumpled the cup frustratingly, chucking it aside when suddenly he was pushed from behind. He turned around and saw a girl there, her legs wobbling as she desperately tried to stay on her feet. He opened his mouth to ask if she needed any help when she vomited all over his pants and shoes.

“What the–” _Great. Just perfect._ Thomas pressed a fist against his mouth, forcing it to stay shut instead of joining the puking girl, while at the same time trying to keep the redhead in front of him from falling.

“Sophia!” Thomas heard another girl yell as she caught up with them, immediately noticing the mess her friend made out of Thomas’ clothes. “Oh, my god. I’m so sorry,” she apologized, putting the girl’s arm around her shoulders. Thankfully, this one seemed completely sober. “Shit, I didn’t know she was so wasted already.”

“Do you need help? Want me to get her some water or something?” Thomas offered once he calmed his own nauseous projectile down. He knew very well the feeling of responsibility of a drunken friend. At least that’s what he told himself was the reason he decided to stay with them. Because he was definitely _not_ just lingering on.

“It’s okay, thanks. I think I’m just gonna take her home,” the girl smiled gratefully before glancing back at the pretty _wasted_ chick in her arms. She tenderly moved long hair out of the girl’s face, her thumb brushing against her cheek in an attempt to keep her awake, “Come on Soph, stay with me. Let’s get you in the car.”

 _Sophia_ smiled sweetly at her friend, straightening up slightly, then completely dropping to her knees. Thomas took a quick glance at Brenda’s way, Wll, _it’s not like she’s gonna leave the party anytime soon._ He sighed inwardly before bending down and taking the barely conscious redhead in his arms, “Where did you park?”

“Uum, just over there,” the sober one pointed vaguely in a direction where most of the people parked their cars and Thomas followed her to make sure they both ended up safely inside it.

***

When Thomas came back to the beach, deliberately avoiding the crowd and sneaking up from behind, he kept searching for her. Finally noticing the girl near the fire made him stop. She and Harriet stood next to those guys who were checking out dancing group only minutes ago. His skin crawled with jealousy. He took a sudden step forward only to stop immediately. One glance down made him groan in anger. _What the hell am I doing?_

His sneakers were covered in a mix of some girl’s late dinner and beer. Even after trying (and failing) to clean his shirt with a Kleenex redhead’s friend gave him after helping them, his clothes were still splotchy and he definitely couldn’t ignore the smell.

Before he even knew what he was doing, Thomas turned on his heels and stormed off in another direction.

***

“Seriously, you’re such a… just…” he pursed his lips angrily, thinking of an appropriate word for his cowardice, “Weak. A wuss. Yes, you are a wuss,” Thomas concluded, nodding to himself in agreement. Twigs cracked under his feet, breaking the eerie silence of chilly forest air. He wasn’t quite sure how he ended up there, his legs were practically on autopilot, taking him through the dark woods. It was a place not far away from the beach, one he often visited as a child. He was almost there. Only a few steps further, up the hill, his secret utopia. The lookout point.

He huffed, stomping over tree roots frustratingly while keeping his hands up as a shield from branches that kept popping out in front of his face. “I mean, you can’t even _talk_ to her without stuttering or hyperventilating and you actually thought you had the courage to ask her _out_? Hah!” he kept renting uncontrollably. Maybe his friends were right whenever they called him insane. “Hmph, yeah, ‘cause _that’s_ gonna happen, you _moron_! Minho’s right, you’re an idiot. A fool. I mean, what were you even thinking was gonna happen, man?” he laughed humourlessly at his own words. “Man. You’re not even a _man_. Men have balls. You _have_ no balls,” he clenched his fists and screamed again, “You have no balls!”

“That’s really not something you should be saying out loud, mate.”

“Whaah–” Thomas stopped dead in his tracks, spinning around so swiftly he could’ve sworn he felt something in his neck crack. His eyes were probably comically wide as he tried to find the source of the sudden voice, but it was too dark. Then, a shadow slowly came out from behind a tree. It was still impossible to make out the intruder’s face or even their built, so Thomas wasn’t sure if running for it would be a feasible option.

The brunet took a cautious step backwards, suddenly on high alert. “What do you want? I know karate.” It was a futile attempt and most definitely a childish one, he was aware, but it came out of his mouth before he was able to stop it.

The person released a strange muffled noise, something Thomas believed was a slight chuckle, only… different. A bit restrained, as if it wasn’t allowed, almost… _sad_? “Well, _I_ don’t, so if you’d be kind and not punch me I’d appreciate it a lot.”

With his hearing currently being the only sense he could rely on, Thomas noticed two things. First, the person was certainly a guy. Second, the _guy_ had an accent. _British?_ Thomas guessed. He was pretty sure there weren’t any British kids going to his school, so he supposed the guy was one of those who came with their friends from another town.

He swallowed thickly, anxiety slightly subsiding but still not completely fading away. The guy didn’t speak menacingly. As the matter of fact, his voice was quite… pleasant. Placid, but still strong and somehow tender at the same time, even with his thick accent. It made Thomas feel strangely calmer by the second. He took a silent, deep breath in an effort to sound as nonchalant as possible. “Okay… I’ll spare you.”

“Good that.”

There was a soft shuffle of leaves and branches being broken as Thomas realised the shadow moved a couple of steps towards him, though this time the action didn’t intimidate him as much. “So, what are you doing here?”

“Waiting.”

 _A one-word man. Got it._ “Oh, sorry, I’m gonna leave,” he pointed vaguely in a direction he came from even though the other couldn’t see the gesture. “Guess your company will arrive soon.”

“Not for some _one_. For some _thing._ ”

“What, like an owl… or a forest spirit?” Thomas chuckled nervously. Yes, he was perfectly aware of his stupid attempt of a joke but the feeling disappeared as soon as he heard something between an exhale and a slight chuckle again. Still not a laugh. _This guy’s tough._

“No. Just time,” the man responded simply.

“Time for what?” Thomas wasn’t sure why he was still there, or why he was interested in the mysterious person who unknowingly occupied his favourite spot in this town. The thought didn’t make him leave though.

“You ask a lot of questions,” the guy stated, but there wasn’t any real annoyance in his voice.

“Sorry,” the brunet swallowed again, “It’s just… you’re kinda in my secret escape place right now.”

“Oh, uum… I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” his companion apologized and Thomas realised he started turning away. “I’ll just lea–”

“No!” the brunet stopped him abruptly. “I mean, it’s fine. I can share,” he smiled reassuringly before remembering once again the other couldn’t see it. “It’s not like I monopolized it.”

“Okay, thanks. ‘Cause I’d really rather not go down there, ya know.”

“Hmph, yeah. I know,” Thomas agreed. He was _definitely_ not returning to the party. And if Minho gets pissed off at him tomorrow, well so be it. He’ll yell at him for a day or two (maybe a week) and probably make him pay tickets for the next soccer game, but after that, he’ll forgive him. It was totally worth avoiding the mess he was convinced waited for him down there _._

Thomas silently turned and started towards the big rock he usually sat on, at the slight clearing on the very edge of the hill, only this time climbing on it instead. He looked down and what he saw was probably one of the best views he ever witnessed from this spot. He put his hands in his pockets and took a deep breath through his nose, admiring the beautiful sight in front of him as a soft beat of music reached his ears.

Black sky, covered in thousands of shiny stars the thick forest behind him kept so selfishly hidden from the view. Full moon, as if challenging the kids on the beach to get wilder than ever. Yes, Thomas was quite sure alcohol wasn’t the only trigger of lewd teenage behaviour tonight. He glanced at the big fire and noticed most people were gathered near it now, dancing around the smoke and under the decorating lights Teresa brought from her home which seemed like stars on their own. It was fascinating and it all made Thomas realise he hasn’t felt this peaceful in a very long time.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” the sudden voice snapped him out of his daydreaming and Thomas noticed it was closer this time.

He sighed contently and finally sat down, crossing his legs and not caring if the smudges on his pants smeared even more. “Yeah, it’s breathtaking.” He turned his head slightly, squinting his eyes to see where the guy was only to find him still hidden in the shadows between trees. “I was just kiddin’ about the karate thing, ya know,” he smiled and directed his gaze towards the sky again.

His companion snickered, “No shit, and here I was afraid of you kicking my arse,” and then there was ruffling under his feet as he came to stand only a couple of feet closer to Thomas, still keeping his distance. There were several seconds of pleasant silence before he spoke again. “Why are _you_ here anyway? Hiding away from someone?”

Thomas scoffed, “I wasn’t hiding! I was just…” he trailed off. What _was_ he doing? It sure as _hell_ looked like he was running away. Who was he kidding, of course he was. He sighed inwardly, _I’ll never be able to do it. Wuss._

“Looking for your balls?” the guy provided suddenly and Thomas was unable to hold back a cackle that burst out of him. He couldn’t believe how unexpected it was, but after everything that happened tonight, he was grateful to this stranger for cheering him up without even trying.

“Oh, my god.” The brunet put his head in his hands in shame, mumbling, “Is there _any_ chance you could ever forget what you heard?”

“Nope.”

Thomas shook his head, “Great, thanks.”

“Hmm…”

The brunet wiped out a single tear from the corner of his eye, small chuckles still erupting from his throat as he turned over his shoulder to glance where the other was still keeping himself in the dark. “You don’t laugh much, do you?”

If the boy was irritated by the question, Thomas wasn’t able to see it. A few moments passed before he decided to answer and Thomas didn’t notice an offended undertone he was expected to hear. “What makes you say that?”

“You mean aside from the fact that you hadn’t laughed _once_? I mean, I admit I might not be as funny as I usually tend to give myself the credit for, but still…” Thomas heard a faint sigh. _Okay, maybe I shouldn’t’ve said anything._ “Sorry, you don’t have to answer that,” he waved his hand dismissively.

Thomas counts four beats of his heart in the silence. _Five…_ _six… sev-_

“I _do_ laugh. I just don’t do it out loud very often.”

The brunet frowned. “That sounds kinda… sad,” he admitted, regretting it the moment it slipped his lips. “I mean, you shouldn’t be shy to let people hear your laugh.” He moved his palms behind his back, flattening them against the rock to support his weight as he looked up at the sky again. He ignored the other's "Who said I was shy" and instead continued, “You never know when it could lighten up someone’s day.” Somewhere along those lines, Brenda’s cute little chuckle echoed in his head, before it was interrupted by a mocking sneer.

“So you’re one of those, huh? A romantic.”

Thomas scoffed, “I’m not– You know what…” He shook his head, “So what if I am? You got something against romantics?” he retorted defensively. “I enjoy hearing the person I like laugh. And if _I_ was the one who made it happen, well… that’s just the best feeling in the world, man.”

A pause again before the man asked, “Who are they?”

“What?”

“You said _the_ person, not _a_ person. I’m guessing you had someone special in mind,” the guy pointed out and Thomas could practically imagine him smirking proudly.

“I don’t–” Thomas stopped himself again, then sighed heavily. _What’s the point in lying anyway? It’s not like I’ll ever see this guy again._ “Maybe.”

“Are they the reason you were looking for your balls in the middle of the forest?”

The brunet groaned, dropping his head in surrender. Could he feel more embarrassed? He peeked over his shoulder again, “You’re enjoying this, aren’t ya?”

“Just a bit.”

“Well,” Thomas sighed, glancing back at the dancing and drinking party. _She must be enjoying herself down there… who could blame her…_ “At least someone is.”

“Aww, don’t be sad,” the guy cooed tauntingly, “I’m sure you’ll find ‘em someday. When you grow up.”

Thomas barked a laugh, “You’re just–” _Making me laugh I guess,_ the brunet smiled fondly. It was sort of unusual how at ease he felt with this stranger so quickly (when you forget the scary way they met, of course). His presence soothed the brunet in a weird and pleasurable way and for a moment, Thomas completely forgot about the party, his sticky, smelly clothes… and Brenda. And the fact that he was a wuss. “Thanks.”

His companion must’ve noticed the brunet genuinely meant it because he asked, “For what?”

“Making my night less painful I guess,” he confessed and the boy didn’t respond, which was all right because Thomas enjoyed the comfortable silence – which was only followed by a soft rhythm of the music – as much as talking with the guy.

After a while, the song changed and Thomas let out a thrilled shriek he probably should've felt embarrassed about, but he didn't care. “I love this song! You were looking at me like you wanted to stay when I saw you yesterday.” He started singing along, letting himself relish in the short moment of happiness where nothing was wrong, where he wasn’t scared or running away, where everything seemed possible. “I'm not wasting your time, I'm not playing no games… I see you!” He lifted his hands up in the air and swayed his head, moving to the beat. He closed his eyes tightly, losing every sense of reality… and sang. “Who knows the secret tomorrow will hold?”

And sang. “We don't really need to know!”

And sang. “'Cause you're here with me now, I don't want you to go.”

And sang.

 

Thomas sighed contently after the song ended, relaxing again in a comfortable position on the rock. The whole time the other boy never uttered a word and Thomas was scared to turn around and check if he was still there. So he waited for a movement. Or any kind of sign of the man's presence.

_Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen…_

“I feel like I should’ve paid to witness this performance.”

Thomas sighed in relief. “Oh, I thought you already ran away,” he chuckled nervously.

The guy scoffed, “You kiddin’? And miss _this_?”

“Is that sarcasm I’m detecting?”

There was a slight pause before the other responded and for some reason, the way he said it made Thomas believe every word. “Maybe. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t enjoyed it. You have a quite pleasant voice.”

The brunet was just about to retort something witty, probably address his companion’s hidden sweet side when the other added, “Didn’t make me want to rip my ears off, so that’s a plus.”

“Wow, thanks again,” the brunet shook his head in amusement. _Guess I overestimated his tenderness._

“No problem.”

He was pulled away from an attempt to utter another response when he noticed someone walking away from the crowd towards the bunch of boxes and crates huddled up further away on the sand. _Minho… I guess it’s time already._ “It’s almost midnight,” he concluded.

“What? It can’t be that la–” the other stressed out and when Thomas turned to see why he was suddenly so upset, a soft light from his phone was illuminating his face. It lasted less than a beat and he barely caught a glimpse before the guy turned it off and Thomas was left staring into darkness again. He frowned disappointedly, scolding himself for not turning around faster. _Why does it even matter how he looks like?_

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I just… didn’t realise I stayed up so late. I need to go.” 

Thomas figured the guy started leaving because there was shuffling of leaves again which thankfully stopped as soon as he yelled out, “Wait! Stay. Just for a moment, yeah?”

“Why?” the stranger asked, confused.

“Just a few minutes. You won’t regret it,” Thomas smiled without thinking. He did that a lot tonight apparently, not even caring the other was unable to see him either. He simply didn’t want him to leave yet, hoping to witness what was about to happen together with this stranger. It seemed somehow… right. “I promise.”

There was a sigh, then a low “okay”. It made the brunet’s grin grow bigger as he turned to look downwards again, waiting. _Just a little bit more… it’s coming... there!_

A flicker. A sparkle. Then, wheezing whistles travelled up and up before finally blasting in beautiful bright colours, lightening the night sky. Thomas watched amazed as fireworks flashed in front of his eyes, repeating explosions smothering the sound of music. The word _stunning_ passed his mind just before he felt a warm presence next to him. A faintly familiar scent reached his nostrils, a pleasant combination of wood and leather, though he wasn’t sure why it should’ve feel familiar in the first place.

Steadily, he turned his head and caught a glimpse of fairly slim legs and just as his gaze started travelling upwards a louder boom echoed through the air and his head instinctively spun to see. The last firework slowly faded from the sky and soon enough it was dark again.

Hopeful, Thomas turned to his left again and all of the joy evaporated in a flash as disappointment settled in.

He was alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, first - I'd like to apologize to you guys for my lack of updating regularly. I must say it'll probably be like this for a while, until the summer comes and my everyday schedule stops being so freaking busy.  
> Anyway, I really hope y'all enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! :)
> 
> P.S. Are my chapters too long? Cos maaan, this one was supposed to be much shorter, but once I start writing it's just so damn hard to stop.


	5. The Wonder Kid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aftermath of the bonfire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, two chapters in less than three days? WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED? I just couldn't keep you guys waiting!  
> (Don't get used to it though... I was inspired... it happens sometimes)
> 
> P.S. Minho is a cinnamon roll. I adore him!

“Maybe we’re perfect strangers, maybe it’s not forever…” Thomas mumble-sang, scrubbing his scalp with tips of his fingers while trying not to swallow shampoo. Thick steam filled the small tiled cubicle and he enjoyed the sharp hits of hot water burning his back pleasantly, massaging his tensed muscles. He shut his eyes tightly and tilted his head, _Maybe we're helping each other escape… I'm with you_ , letting the stream cascade down his face before rinsing his body.

He turned the faucet off, then drew the curtain and stepped out on the cold floor. Wrapping a towel around his waist, he grabbed his toothbrush and started brushing his teeth when last night’s events passed through his mind for a hundredth time.

He had barely slept. Memories of Brenda having fun with those… _shanks_ , of that wasted redhead ruining his clothes so that he was unable to even approach the brunette. Because he _definitely_ would’ve done it if that particular incident hadn’t happened. He was sure of it.

“Yeah, one hundred percent,” Thomas shrugged confidently.

But every time, those thoughts of Brenda would somehow end up fading into a thick accent, a soft voice and the feeling of utter peacefulness and comfort. He wasn’t sure why, but it gave him a great sense of calmness to think about the last hour he spent on the top of that hill.

Thomas was almost certain they would’ve become good friends if the guy lived nearby. The brunet liked his sense of humour and the casual yet careful way words slipped his mouth.

Only one thing kept bothering him ever since the man left him alone on the cliff. The way he simply vanished without even saying goodbye. Suddenly, he remembered the blond from school – _Newt_ , and the mere thought of him made Thomas frown in annoyance. _Didn’t he sort of do the same, though?_ Leave before getting to hear Thomas’ name?

Thomas chuckled to himself. _That’s stupid. They’re_ nothing _alike._ His midnight visitor obviously enjoyed talking to him, at least Thomas believed so. That greenie didn’t even look at him.

And what was all that secretiveness about, anyway? Why hiding his face in shadows? After hours spent in rolling under his duvet, practically until dawn, the only conclusion the brunet succeeded to take out of it was that the guy was simply scared. Only he seemed anything _but_ scared.

“Maybe he’s like that Wonder kid,” Thomas mused as he turned his blow dryer and started ruffling his hair. _Auggie, right? Maybe he has a… different face. And he thinks he’s ugly or something…_ he pondered. _But how could anyone think of a person so… interesting and fun to be ugly?_ Thomas also wanted to say _sweet_ , suspecting there was a lot of hidden tenderness underneath that regarded demeanour.

_Wish I’d seen him… I’d told him he was pretty…_ he cleared his throat, _amazing._

Opening the bathroom door caused him to twitch from its squeak. “Oil, Thomas. Buy the fucking oil,” he grumbled, then strolled to his closet and shuffled for a T-shirt and a pair of clean pants before sitting on the edge of the bed to put socks on, his mind never leaving previous thoughts. There was one more thing Thomas realised, although a bit too late when he was already walking home alone after escaping the party.

He never asked for the boy’s name. Not like he presumed the other would’ve said it to some stranger whose face he didn’t even see, but Thomas still liked to think that maybe, just maybe, if he had actually asked the guy would’ve given it to him. _I guess we’ll always be just two strangers in the night_. Thomas chuckled at the thought as he threw books in his backpack.

_Wish I knew who he was, though._

Grabbing his phone from the night table, he took it off the charger and turned it on. He winced at four messages and thirteen missed phone calls from Minho and several more from Teresa before putting it in his pocket. He’ll explain in school (if the Asian doesn’t find him before and murder him in some alley).

***

Thomas figured it would be less painful if Minho didn’t see him before their first class together (which, mind his luck, was the very first class of the day) where, presumably if not everyone was dead wasted and decided to stay at homes, there would be a lot of witnesses.

So Thomas came twenty-eight minutes earlier – which he never did before – and snuck into men’s room, waiting for the bell.

When it finally rang, he took a deep breath to collect himself and unlocked the stall.

The moment he opened the door, he wished he was dead as he took a step backwards and closed the door again, clutching at the handle for life.

“Don’t be a baby, Thomas. Come out.”

The brunet squeezed his eyes shut, wanting to believe his friend but experience convinced him not to. “Are you angry?”

“Do I seem angry to you?” His voice was calm. Way too calm, only Thomas didn’t trust the same could be told about the guy’s emotions.

“Are you gonna give me a black eye?”

“Of course not, you shank. When have I ever done that?” the guy on the other side said defensively and even though Thomas knew he had a right, his mind told him there’s a first time for anything. Minho exhaled, “Just get out of there before we both get late to Psychology.”

Thomas sighed, “Okay. But before I do you should know how utterly, completely, _terribly_ sorry I am.” He waited a few seconds and when no reply came Thomas warily stepped out, looking at his friend sheepishly.

The Korean moved forward from where his butt was casually leaning against the sink with his arms crossed over his buffed chest – and when Thomas instinctively took a step back – he arched a brow.

The brunet raised his hands in surrender and a sort of shield, “I swear I can explain.”

“Mhm,” Minho nodded, taking another calculated step toward the brunet who was a hyperventilating mess by now.

“Look, it’s not my fault, honestly,” Thomas started ranting, “I realised my phone was dead just when I came home, okay? I went back on foot, didn’t wanna make you leave your own party. It’s just that– there was this girl that puked all over me just when I _fiiinally_ gathered the courage to approach Brenda and then her friend came and the girl that vomited passed out, so I had to help them to the car, and when I came back Brenda was already chatting with some idiots who were totally coming on to her and I just figured I wouldn’t stand a chance so I left. I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry!”

By the time he finished, Thomas was breathless. The Asian stared at him blankly, zero emotion visible on his face. Then he nodded stiffly and a moment later, Thomas’ felt a sharp throbbing pain in his shoulder.

“Aaaaugh!” the brunet cried out, rubbing the sore spot as he yelled defensively, “I apologized!”

“And I heard you. Not sure I quite believed you, though. But anyway, now we’re even,” Minho shrugged like it was no big deal and Thomas wanted to let it go, damn it he _should_ let it go and just be happy he didn’t actually get a black eye, but he wasn’t okay with being punched just because he ditched a stupid party (even though deep down he knew he probably deserved it). Still, it was only a party and Minho shouldn’t have smacked him for it.

“You said you wouldn’t punch me!”

“No, I said I wouldn’t give you a black eye,” the Asian deadpanned.

Thomas scoffed, “It’s just a party, man.”

“What?” the Korean shrieked and yes, Thomas regretted saying anything in the first place. _You and your big mouth. At least learn how to take a_ punch _like a man if you can’t do anything else like one._

Minho’s face reddened in anger and Thomas mentally prepared himself for a kick in the shin. “That’s what you think? That I’m mad because you left the party early?” the guy screamed, waving his arms in frustration.

The brunet wanted to ask ‘why then’, but thankfully restrained himself and let the other release the palpable fury.

“YOU DISAPPEARED!”

Thomas froze. _Oh. My god._ He was so absorbed in everything that happened from the second he first saw Brenda to the moment he felt strangely excited about a mystery guy he met in the forest, he completely forgot to inform his friends he was leaving the bonfire.

“No one had seen you for an _hour_ , you were _nowhere_ to be found and you weren’t answering your _goddamn phone_! I looked everywhere for you, I started up those fucking fireworks even though I wasn’t up for it anymore because I hoped you were maybe just getting lucky with someone in bushes, because I knew you wouldn’t miss fucking fireworks even if Charlize Theron herself was in the fucking town, but you never showed up!”

Thomas felt ashamed because he had never heard his friend swear so much, especially not when it’s aimed at him.

Minho took a shaking breath before continuing in a slightly quieter, calmer voice. “I thought something happened to you. I thought someone might have attacked you and you ended up in a ditch or something. Or that you suddenly decided to go for a skinny dipping and drowned.”

He paused, now completely calm, but from the way his eyes still pierced Thomas’, the brunet knew it was only from the outside. “I thought you were dead,” Minho swallowed, closing his eyes shut and Thomas swore the guy suddenly looked ten years older. “It wasn’t until Rachel came to me after almost an hour of searching, that she said her friend had texted her explaining what happened.” The Asian exhaled heavily. “I figured you left home after that but I still couldn’t have been sure, and I didn’t want to alarm your parents if it was nothing. Until I finally saw you sneaking this morning behind cars on the parking lot.”

Thomas hated himself. With such power he wanted to tell Minho to punch him again. His friend was worried. Bags under his eyes dark and heavy. The guy must’ve slept as bad as Thomas, hell, probably even worse.

_God, I’m such an asshole_ , he sighed and gave his best to put all of his genuine regret into his apology. “Min, I– I don’t know what to say… I am so, _so_ terribly sorry. It’ll never happen again, I swear.”

The Asian rubbed his eye tiredly. “You don’t have to say anything. Just don’t _ever_ do it again.”

“Never!” Thomas repeated, crossing his finger over his heart in a promise.

“And don’t _ever_ think some stupid party is more important than my friends,” Minho added as an afterthought and Thomas hated the look of disappointment in Korean’s eyes, as if he couldn’t believe Thomas would even think something like that.

“I didn’t,” the brunet said gently.

A corner of Minho’s lips twitched upwards as he squeezed Thomas’ shoulder lightly (the one he didn’t hit) and nodded in understanding. “Good. Now let’s get to class, we’re already late.”

***

Slowly trailing behind Minho, the two entered the classroom where Mr Vince was leaning on the top of his desk, gesturing his hands as he was explaining something about cognitive-behavioural therapy to his students. The man stopped as soon as he noticed boys entering.

“You’re late,” he stated.

Thomas decided to let Minho talk since he was still being a little lost after their fight. “We’re really sorry, Mr Vince. He was a bit sick,” the Asian pointed in Thomas’ direction, “So I went to see if he was okay.”

_Well, I guess I deserved for everybody to think I can’t stand alcohol well._

Professor squinted his eyes briefly then nodded towards their seats, “Alright, sit down,” before going back to teaching.

Thomas kept his head down as he passed between rows of staring teenagers, raising it just when he was passing Teresa. She shot him a cold glance then immediately turned her attention to the lesson. Thomas sighed. He was fucked.

As he went to sit at the back of the room he noticed the newbie occupied a chair behind him. The brunet frowned, _Not_ this _guy_ _again_ , but the blond barely spared him an indifferent glance before focusing on his notes.

 

The lecture passed painfully slow and throughout it Thomas felt pricks at the back of his neck several times, scorching his skin. It made him anxious and uncomfortable, and when you add the uneasy expectation of Teresa’ upcoming reaction to his little incident, he felt on a verge of throwing up.

He also spent a lot of time thinking about what he said to Minho earlier. Or more precisely – what he _didn’t_ say. He didn’t mean to lie his friend about his last night’s whereabouts, but in some selfish way, he didn’t want to share the fact that he (sort of) met an interesting guy in the woods. Plus, it would’ve made the Asian jealous.

The bell sounded and Thomas wasn’t fast enough to pack his things because blue ballerina flats with white dots stopped next to his desk. Lifting his head up, Thomas braced himself. He opened his mouth in an attempt of an apology only to have it shut a moment after. Before he had any time to comprehend what was happening, the back of her palm connected with his cheek and Thomas’ hand instantly went to sooth the vibrated heat.

He turned to look at the girl again and her face was a mirrored image of Minho from only an hour ago. She clenched her jaw and when the brunet once again tried to utter a word she flashed her hand right in front of his face in a dismissive way. “Don’t you dare. Don’t you _dare_ say you’re sorry.” Her voice was calm before it turned bitter. “Do you have _any_ idea how worried we all were? You just vanished and never said anything to anyone!”

Thomas was barely able to voice the first letter of her name before she interrupted him again, too pissed to even listen to him. And he understood.

“No! You are an _idiot_! I can’t believe you did something like that to us! God, I–” Teresa threw her arms in the air, a gesture of frustration. So familiar to Thomas today. “I’m just so _mad_ at you! I can’t even look at you right now!”

And with that she stormed off, leaving the brunet hunched in his chair while everyone in the room stared at him judgingly. _I guess everyone knew_ , _then._

Thomas felt a pat on his shoulder before he registered Minho standing by his side. “She’ll cool down.” He pressed his lips together, squeezed brunet’s shoulder reassuringly and left after the girl.

Someone chuckled making Thomas screw his eyes shut in annoyance because he knew that voice. _Gally._

“I guess now you know the feeling,” the boy said and Thomas immediately remembered sixth grade. Him and Minho playing with marbles on a narrow pathway when they a heard a loud cheering. They noticed kids gathering around a sanded circle where they last saw Teresa and immediately ran off to see if their friend was alright. Squeezing through the crowd Thomas broke to the front row and what he witnessed that day, changed his mind about girls being defenceless forever. Teresa, her hair rugged and her face covered in dirt, was sitting on Gally’s belly, slapping and hitting the life out of him as the other tried to shield his face. Apparently, he called her ‘ _baby doll’_ and lifted her skirt which awoke Teresa’ animalistic side. Thomas never felt more proud of the girl.

Gally snickered, breaking Thomas’ fond memories. _Wish_ I _had it in me to beat the shit out of him_. After moments of brunet’s silence and stern glance (because he’s definitely not going to give Gally the satisfaction of responding to his provocative mocking), the guy smirked and left too, with everybody else following suit.

Except for Brenda.

The brunette approached Thomas warily, the corners of her pierced lips slightly turned upward in an apologizing sort of way. _What was she sorry about? That my friend just yelled at me or that she flirted with various guys last night?_ Thomas sighed inwardly. It wasn’t _her_ he was angry at, he reminded himself. It was him.

“I…” she fiddled with her fingers nervously, “I’m really glad you are alright.” She smiled in that perfect, charming way she always did and even if there was something she did wrong, the brunet forgave her immediately. Then she slowly left out of the room.

Thomas sighed once he was finally alone and able to breathe before his peripheral caught a movement on his left and his head instantaneously spun around. The blond was still sitting in his chair, staring at Thomas. Frowning. _Unbelievable._ One _time he’s looking at me directly in the eyes and he’s frowning. Am I_ _seriously_ that _repulsive?_

Thomas didn’t have the time nor intention to dwell on what it meant, and instead frowned at the guy too – just for a good measure – then shook his head and he stood, starting towards the exit.

_Weirdo._

***

He was never happier to come back home than today. Sighing the moment his foot stepped inside the safe zone.

“Woah… What happened to you?” Chuck quipped when he saw brunet’s probably tortured and tired face.

“Nothing,” he gave an attempt of a smile but judging by the questionable crease between younger’s eyes he failed. “I’m fine, Chucky. Don’t worry about it.”

“Mom made chicken parmesan,” the kid smiled encouragingly. “You look like you need some good drowning-sorrow-in-food... food.”

Thomas chuckled, ruffling kid’s locks gently and this time the young one let him. “I really do.”

 

“I’m guessing last night was pretty rough, judging by the overall,” his father circled his hand in front of Thomas’ face while checking out his appearance, “ _thing_ goin’ on over there.”

His mom chuckled lightly, stabbing a piece of meat in her plate. “Leave him alone, Mark. We all had those days,” she said fondly and the brunet was never more grateful for getting a permission to stay quiet. “He’s probably still hungover.”

_Aaaand, there it is._ He should’ve known. Of course they would tease him about it. If only they knew he didn’t take more than a few sips of beer. But he decided it was better not to mention it because then he would be obligated to tell what actually happened, and he was convinced that would’ve sounded worse somehow. “Yeah… guess I overestimated my capacity for alcohol endurance,” Thomas smirked and nodded in a fake acceptance, “But, I learned my lesson.”

His mother smiled, “Glad to hear that, honey.” And his dad agreed with a silent nod. “Did you at least have a good time?”

“Uum…” Thomas paused. Did he? Come to think about it, even though he was very disappointed he didn’t get a chance to talk to Brenda, he was still truly satisfied with how the evening turned out in the end. Meeting that mysterious guy was his highlight of the day, to be honest. He only wished the boy hadn’t left so abruptly. “You know…” Thomas smiled, “I really did.”

And this time he didn’t need to lie.

 

Thomas turned the faucet on and took a plate form a pile in the sink, rinsing it before disposing it in the dishwasher. “Hey, mom… do you need help with anything after this?”

“Nope,” her head peeked from behind the fridge door, “Why? Going out with Minho?”

“Uum, yeah… we agreed to watch a movie tonight.”

“Oh, sure hun. My plan was to relax with TV anyway. Grey’s Anatomy’s on tonight.” She smirked.

Thomas frowned in amusement, “Mom, you always cry when you watch that show.”

She scoffed, putting a dirty bowl on the counter for Thomas to wash. “Here’s a little advice for you, baby.” The woman stood next to him until she was sure she had his fool attention, a fond look on her face. “It’s healthy to have a good-hearted cry once in a while.” She stroked his hair gently and gave him a tender smile. Then she turned and went back to the dining room, speaking louder so he was able to hear, “Is Minho even okay after last night? I never asked,” she chuckled.

Thomas shook his head lightly, confused by why his mother would suddenly talk about something like that. “Yeah, he’s fine. High tolerance, I guess,” Thomas shrugged.

“Oh, good,” she was back in the kitchen again. “Have a nice time then, honey.”

***

Thomas wrapped his coat closer to his chest at a particularly frosty blow of the wind. It was colder than he imagined, chilly air scratching his lungs with every breath he took.

Sunset in this town meant everyone was already at home for dinner so the streets were empty as the brunet rounded a corner. He strolled along the sidewalk, not exactly knowing where he was heading to.

He hasn’t agreed to visit Minho tonight. His mom assumed that on her own and Thomas figured it was better to just go with it than try to explain what he really wanted to do. Because he didn’t understand that himself.

Feeling overwhelmed with everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, the only thing he _was_ confident about was that he desperately needed to get out. Be alone for a while, far from his family, from his friends. Far from people.

So he ducked his head and kept moving one leg in front of the other at a steady pace. He walked, not realising where he was going to until a hard concrete suddenly disappeared underneath his sneakers and his feet sunk into the sand. Raising his head Thomas watched as the last bit of Sun faded under the horizon.

End then, it was dark again. It probably made sense somehow, that he ended up on the beach.

Glancing at the forest pathway, Thomas had a thought. Or maybe it was a wish.

He wanted to see him again. He wanted to talk to him.

So inhaling deeply, Thomas moved.

And hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't know when the next chapter will be up, but I'm already working on it (mostly in my head) ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> Also, there'll be a LOT more Newtmas in the next chapter (just sayin')   
> LOVE ya guys!!


	6. The Rare Species

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minho's planning another party.  
> Thomas hates his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was a quick update again. NO idea what's happening to me. My mind is like a machine lately.

Thomas absently followed trees and houses as they blurred before his eyes. His elbow propped up on the window, his palm supporting his jaw. Soft beat of music filled the silence, but it did nothing to lift up his mood. Minho probably called his name more than once because suddenly there were fingers snapping in front of his face, jerking him out of his dazed state.

“Huh?” the brunet raised his eyebrows in question.

“When did I lose you, man?” Minho frowned, “Did you even hear anything I said or did I spoke to Rosita again? ‘Cause you know, no matter how much I’d like for her to talk back,” he tapped affectionately the dash of his car, then said in a hushed tone so _she_ couldn’t hear, “This lady is mute.” Grabbing the steering wheel again, he added with a smirk, “But she definitely heard and saw some pretty good stuff, didn’t ya girl?”

Thomas rolled his eyes. His friend was such a dork. “I’m sorry, Rosita,” he spoke as if he was addressing the car, stroking the dash like a child, “You shouldn’t be obligated to listen to his crap all the time. And I also apologize for all disturbing things he made you witness.”

“Hey!” the Asian yelled back, seemingly offended, which only made Thomas smirk. “Shuckface.”

Thomas chuckled. “Okay, okay. What were you saying, Min _hoe_?”

“Well… _Tommy boy_ ,” Minho mocked, knowing very well how much the brunet hated being called like that.

“All right, I take it back, just please stop,” Thomas frowned and the other grinned in victory.

“Good that,” the boy nodded. “So, listen. There’s this party on Saturday night–”

Thomas groaned, throwing his head back against the seat. Honestly, he _hated_ parties. Or any kinds of social gatherings. He never understood why most people found it enjoyable. The pushing, the grinding, the _way_ too loud music which always made his head pound the next day. So many faces he didn’t even know and a few – like Gally’s – he didn’t even _like_. So, basically, a room (or a house) full of lewd teenagers doing stupid, irrational things under the influence of alcohol.

Besides, he thought once the bonfire was over he’d be free from that kind of stuff until the farewell party after graduation. Minho even _promised_ him he wouldn’t try to make him go to any more than just those two parties (after Thomas set that as the only condition, of course). And there were three reasons why the bonfire was even _bearable_ for him to participate in: a) Minho was his best friend so he kinda _had_ to, b) the guy started talking about the first – and the last – party of the senior year in the fifth grade, and c) it was taking place in the open, which for Thomas meant more fresh air to breathe, and more places to escape to when he felt overwhelmed (which, in the end, he did). Suddenly, that last thought made the brunet remember the last night, but before he had any time to dwell on it again, the Korean continued his speech.

“Now, wait a sec. I’m not torturing you here, just tryin’ to lay out all the options we have for the weekend, yeah?” Minho said calmly.

Thomas sighed and flicking his tongue looked back at the buff guy who took a quick glance at him before focusing on the road again.

“Yeah?” the man repeated and when Thomas raised his hand as if to say ‘ _Do I even have a choice?_ ’ he smiled and continued. “Good. So, it’s at Aris’.”

“Pf! Of course it is,” Thomas shook his head. _Does that guy even_ have _parents?_

Minho sneered, “Yeah, I know. The guy can do whatever the hell he wants with no one there to scold him. And _my_ parents don’t leave me the house even on their freaking anniversary.”

“Well, _maybe_ instead of spending your savings on throwing two parties you could do a nice thing and book them a room in a hotel or something,” Thomas snickered, but regretted it the moment it passed his mouth.

“Oh. My. _God_!” Minho banged his palms against the steering wheel excitedly. “You are a shucking genius!”

“Oh, no…” Thomas facepalmed. He should really start thinking before saying anything out loud. _Stupid,_ stupid _mouth._ “I didn’t mean it like th–”

“No, no, listen! That’s an awesome idea man, honestly. Terrific!” the guy extended his arm, pulled Thomas’ head closer and kissed his temple. “And that’s why you’re my best friend.”

“ _That’s_ why I’m your best friend?” the brunet gaped at the guy, rubbing the top of his head.

Minho cackled. “Of course. You just saved me some money,” he winked at him.

“Uum… how’s that exactly? You know you’re _actually_ goin’ to have to pay for that room, right?” Thomas asked, truly wondering how the man intended to accomplish it.

“Sure. But it’s still cheaper than renting a place, and I’ll let _them_ pay the room service and all that other crap. Plus,” he grinned, lifting his finger to emphasize the point, “Their anniversary is next month.”

“No. Minho, no,” Thomas said sternly.

“Ooooh yeeees,” Minho nodded several times, a satisfied smirk playing on his face. “And you’re coming, too.”

Thomas hated his life.

***

“So, about that other party I was mentioning…” Minho said as they exited the vehicle and started towards the school entrance.

“Oh, nonononono,” Thomas waved his index finger. “I said I _might_ consider coming to your house party, but I’m _not_ goin’ to Aris’.”

“Oh, come on, man! We’ve got nothing better to do this weekend. Do _you_ have anything better to do this weekend?” the Korean begged.

“Minho, _everything_ is better than goin’ to Aris’,” the brunet deadpanned. “You know what kind of people usually go to that guy’s parties.”

“Uuum… _I_ go to that guy’s parties,” the Asian frowned.

Thomas smirked, “Exactly.”

“Ha-ha, very funny. Come on Thomas,” he clapped his hands over his thighs, “Don’t be such a party pooper, everyone’s goin’.”

The brunet scoffed, “A party poop–”

“Yes, you are a party pooper. It’s a fact. Look, I don’t know about you, but I want to enjoy the time I have left as a single, free young man as best as I can before I become all… grownup and stop going out and doing things I like. Because, before you know it, the world is gonna turn to shit and I’ll end up with three screaming kids, a wife that’s never satisfied, a job that I hate, and a permanent migraine.”

“Wow, that’s… really…” the brunet frowned.

Minho arched eyebrow, “Sad and scary? Yeah, I know. Let’s just hope it doesn’t get to that. But in any case, I want to die with at least my high school memories being all rock ‘n’ roll. And I won’t be able to have that if I don’t have my _best_ friend by my side the whole time.”

Thomas sighed heavily (he sighed a lot lately). He knew how this was going to end. Hell, if he was being completely honest, he knew it the moment his friend first mentioned it back in the car. This is simply how these things went with Minho. Thomas would argue him, say ‘ _no’_ over and over again before finally caving.

Every. Freaking. Time.

The brunet glanced at Minho and there it was, as expected. That stupid puppy face the guy just knew how to make look too good. The face that convinced Thomas to teepee old Mr Harold’s house when they were nine, or to jump from his bedroom window when they were sneaking out at age fifteen, because – _‘It won’t hurt, shank. Just do it!’_ Or that one time he _somehow_ convinced Thomas to put a lizard they’ve been examining in Biology class in Teresa’s pencil box, because _‘It would be fun’_ (which, of course, _wasn’t_ fun in the slightest and Thomas still has a scar to prove it).

It was stupid, really. Childish even. But it worked.

Thomas took a deep breath, _God, help me_ , then exhaled heavily. “Fine.”

The Asian cheered next to him and Thomas rolled his eyes.

He was _so_ going to regret this.

“Shit, what’s the first period again?” Thomas cursed as they entered the building.

“Well, _I_ got Sociology, but we’re not together on that one, right?” the Asian asked.

“Nope,” the brunet confirmed. “Okay, gotta get to my locker first, I think I left my schedule there.” He turned around and started walking backwards, pointing finger guns at his friend, “See ya at free period?”

“Of course, shank!” Minho smiled as they parted ways.

Thomas opened his locker and shuffled for the schedule. “Right,” he mumbled, “Calculus.” He put the paper back and fished for the book he needed before heading to the class.

He was just at the door, his head ducked in thought when someone collided with him, making Thomas groan. He was about to apologize, but every word drowned in his throat when he realised who was the person he bumped into.

_Him._

Neither said anything, both boys obviously surprised, before Thomas noticed the – not so subtle – way the blond barely stopped his eyes from rolling. It made the brunet frown in annoyance, because really, who the _hell_ did this guy think he was?

As they stood across from each other, right in front of the wide opened door, Thomas decided to abandon any manners he had learned and moved to enter before the guy. Only it seemed as the blond had the same idea because they ended up crashing their shoulders together and even though Thomas knew he should’ve stopped at that point, move and be at least a bit of a gentleman, he kept shoving the man to the side, who – _Seriously?_ – shoved him back continuously until they both finally ended up inside the classroom at the same time.

As soon as they were in, the boys stepped away from each other like they were afraid to catch a plague from the other, sharing a stern look which was soon interrupted by Mr Janson.

Thomas was so caught up in his frustration towards the blond that for the first time he didn’t shiver or groan when he heard the Ratman speak.

“All right, take your seats, everyone.”

Thomas glanced over the blond’s shoulder and noticed the only two seats left available were in the back of the room. One right in front of the other. _You’ve got to be kidding me_. So, he had to options. Either to sit in the back and be obligated to stare over the blond’s head the whole time, or in the front one, where he would constantly feel pins and needles at the back of his neck.

He didn’t have any time to think which option would be less painful though, since the other was faster and already surged ahead of Thomas to occupy the seat closer to the teacher.

 _Back one it is, then_ , Thomas sighed inwardly.

As he strolled over to the back of the class, Thomas caught Teresa’s eye as was about to pass by her. She had a smirk on her face and the brunet wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad. _Oh, god. I really hope she’s not still angry at me._

“That was quite an entrance,” the dark-haired girl grinned.

 _I guess that means it’s a good thing_ , Thomas smirked back, more to the fact that he was glad his friend didn’t seem mad at him anymore than actually agreeing with her. “Free period?” he mumbled and when the girl nodded, he exhaled in relief.

Once he took a seat and pulled out his books, Thomas looked up front. Directly at the blond’s neck. He wondered if he was able to sense it the way Thomas did yesterday and if it made him as uncomfortable.

_Who has their child named after a lizard?_

Thomas googled ‘ _Newt’_ a couple of days ago after he’d found out the blond’s name. The only thing he could remember about it when they studied it in school was that it was a salamander. But he was curious to find out more. So when he went to his room after late lunch to get ready for the bonfire, he turned on his laptop and opened the search engine.

It said they were usually toxic – _Hmph, makes sense_ – and Thomas considered the possibility of real poison coming out of the guy’s lips. _Maybe that’s why he never speaks_. He also read some are threatened species, on a verge of extinction. _Well, he certainly seemed like a rare species to me_.

Eyes sliding up, he observed the dirty golden hair. Now that it was right in front of him Thomas could notice how fluffy it was. It looked extremely silky and probably very smooth to the touch. _Lucky bastard._ If Thomas raised his arm just a bit, he would be able to brush it between his fingers and check.

Unconsciously, Thomas slightly leaned over his desk, his hand moving up. He inhaled a pleasant woody scent. _Hmm, wonder what kind of perfume he uses. 'S kinda nice, actually._

A loud crash echoed through the room as someone dropped something and Thomas recoiled in his chair, withdrawing his hand.

_What the–_

His cheeks flushed as he realised what he had almost done. Thank goodness for the interruption, because even though it would've been priceless to witness the guy's perplexed face if he had actually done it, he still didn't want to seem like a creep.

Suddenly _Newt_ stirred in his seat and shifted his head slightly to the left. His mouth was slightly open and for a moment Thomas panicked the boy somehow knew what Thomas almost did, and was about to make a remark on it, but then the blond shut his lips and looked back at Mr Janson.

Thomas silently sighed in relief.

The rest of the class passed between struggling to pay attention and still occasionally glancing at the lizard-guy.

Just because it was fun.

***

When Thomas entered his house later that day the first thing he heard was a muffled noise coming from the living room. He followed the voices, silently shuffling over to the doorstep. His parents probably haven’t noticed him coming in because they were still absorbed in their conversation on the couch, his dad’s arm around his mom’s shoulders as he consoled her with hushed whispers. “Shh, honey. It’s okay,” he stroked his wife’s thigh gently.

His mother’s eyes were smeared with makeup, her nose red as she whimpered, “I- I just can’t believe it, Mark. After so many years. I thought…” she pressed her palm against her mouth as if to smother a sob.

Thomas’ heart stopped. In his seventeen years, he had never seen his mother breaking down this way. A chilling sensation crawled down his spine and the thought of someone being sick or that something bad happened to his little brother made him sick. “What’s going?” he breathed, cautiously approaching his parents. “Is everybody okay?”

They instantly glanced at the sudden intruder and the woman didn’t make it further than ‘Oh, honey’ before a new stream of tears spilled down her cheeks.

“Nobody’s hurt, don’t worry, son,” the man then decided to step in, “Your mother’s just overwhelmed, that’s all.”

“Something unexpected happened at work today,” his mom sniffed, wiping her nose with a tissue before she looked at him. Thomas frowned at her puffy red eyes. “Remember my friend Ava I lost touch with when she moved away?”

Thomas nodded.

“She’s back!” the woman let out sobbed shriek and chuckled through her tears.

“Wha- Really? Wh- Is she alright?”

The woman nudged her nose a little, a slight flinch at the question but she smiled nevertheless. “Yeah, she’s fine.”

There was something about the way she said it that made Thomas believe it wasn’t entirely true, but he figured it was better not to push on the matter. “Well, that’s great, mom,” he smiled back, finally sitting next to her on a big sofa. He took her hand in his and said honestly, “I’m really glad.”

His mom squeezed his hand, “Yeah, she came to find me actually. It turns out she got a job here recently so she moved a month ago. She said she had been trying to find me ever since she came here, but since we lost touch a long time ago she wasn’t sure if I still lived here. Or were I worked…”

“That’s…” Thomas shook his head in disbelief, “Wow. It’s amazing.”

“I know. I can’t describe how shocked I was when I saw her at the reception in the hospital. I wasn’t able to speak for five minutes. I just held her there, and she held me and we cried like little girls. I’m _so_ happy.”

Thomas chuckled, “God, when I saw you two I thought something terrible had happened. You scared the _hell_ out of me.”

The woman put a hand over her heart in apology, “Oh, I’m so sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to, I was just so… overwhelmed.”

“It’s okay,” he caressed her arm.

“Oh, and she has this beautiful little boy, she showed me some pictures, he’s just _so_ cute.”

Thomas smiled, “And her husband?”

His mom cleared her dry throat. “No husband. Just the two of them.” Thomas wondered if it was the lady that left the man, or the other way around. “I invited them over for dinner tonight.”

The brunet’s eyebrows shot up, “Oh? So, do we need to dress up all fancy and stuff?”

His mom scoffed and hit his forearm playfully, “Thomas! No need. Just help me get the dinner ready and be nice when they arrive. You understand how important she is to me, right?” the woman smiled hopefully.

“Of course, mom,” Thomas assured her. If he knew _anything_ about his mother, he knew this lady was like a part of the family. Even though he still hadn’t met her. “I was just kiddin’. They’ll be wonderfully welcomed.” The brunet smiled genuinely and the woman mirrored it.

“Perfect,” she padded his knee, “Now let’s get the dinner started.”

***

“Thomaaas! The cookies are done!” his mother yelled from the counter where she was chopping of vegetables for the salad. A repeated sound of slicing over the board probably doing nothing to ease down her anxiety.

Thomas dropped the silverware on the dining table and rushed to the kitchen to take the chocolate chip cookies out of the oven. He put the metal tray on the counter, shutting the oven door with his foot just as Chuck decided to join them.

“So, when are they coming?” Chuck asked, yelping when Thomas smacked his sneaking hand from grabbing a cookie.

“ _Hot_ , you little slinthead.”

The younger frowned but didn’t make another attempt to steal the treat.

“And I don’t know. You said around eight, right?” the brunet raised questioning brows at his mother who still kept her head down as if she hadn’t heard, but Thomas was convinced otherwise since her chopping quickened a bit.

Chuck glanced at the ancient clock hanging next to the fridge. “It’s seven forty-two,” he said matter of factly.

The woman then uttered a stern _‘Soon’_ and that was Thomas’ cue to get the hell out of her face and finish setting up the dinner table.

As he headed out of the kitchen Chuck asked her, “Am I gonna have to play with the kid? ‘Cause you _do_ know I’m pretty smarter than most of my peers and they usually want to play stupid games.”

“You play Mario Kart!” Thomas interjected from the dining room, smiling to himself.

Before the other had any chance for a comeback, he heard his mother respond, “What _you_ have to do is go help your brother. Right now.”

Thomas chuckled.

 

It was almost ten past eight when everyone was done with their chores and now they were all spread out on the couches, waiting. The TV was on some random cooking show, but no one seemed to actually be paying any attention to it. His dad made a comment about how the guy with an insanely tall cooking hat was decorating the five floor cake nicely, though it was probably just to ease the tension.

It didn’t seem to have the desired effect on his mother though, since her knees haven’t stopped bouncing for a second. “Do you think she got the address wrong? Or maybe _I_ gave her the wrong address,” she inhaled sharply, her palm shutting her mouth in sudden shock, “ _Ohmygod_ , what if I accidentally gave her the address of our old place where we lived when Thomas was born?!” She grumbled, “I was so excited and confused when I saw her, I can’t even remember now.”

“Honey, she’s got your cell number,” his dad chipped in helpfully.

Thomas watched his mother’s eyes immediately grew wide, but his father must’ve caught the look too since he didn’t let her voice her thoughts, “You did nooot give her the wrong number.”

Honestly, Thomas wanted to laugh, the woman was hilarious, but he managed to conceal the burst of an unnecessary chuckle with his fist.

The woman exhaled shakily, “What if something happened to them?”

“OH MY GOOOD!” the three men screamed in unison and less than a couple of seconds later, the bell finally echoed through the house.

His mom jumped to her feet instantaneously, rushing to the door, her husband following her.

“Thank god,” Chuck sighed next to Thomas, “Another minute and we’d be obligated to call an ambulance because of her heart attack.”

“Or cops to report a disappearance of two people.” The boys chuckled quietly. “Okay, okay, be nice now!”

His brother scoffed, “I’m always nice!”

The family gathered in the hallway as if they were about to welcome the Queen Elizabeth herself. Or Leonardo DiCaprio (which would actually explain his mother’s agitation).

Thomas took a breath and plastered a polite smile on his face. His mom opened the door widely and immediately shrieked, “Avaaa!”

Thomas watched as a beautiful blonde woman around his mother’s age came in, a grin on her face somehow larger than on his mother’s as she greeted her back, “Trina!” She immediately spread out her arms and leaped to embrace her friend. The movement revealed another person standing in the doorway behind her.

An invisible hand smashed through Thomas’ chest, gripped the pulsating muscle, and squeezed.

His breath caught in his throat.

His smile vanished.

Someone else stood instead of a little boy his mom mentioned earlier. And the person stared back at him with the same intensity Thomas felt he himself was projecting.

It was _him_.

It was _Newt_.

And he was definitely _not_ a little boy.

Thomas barely registered his mother talking, his feet pinned to the ground, unable to move an inch.

“Oh, you must be Newt.” A smile – _smile_ – was apparent in her voice as she said it – to _Newt_ – though Thomas couldn’t know for sure because his eyes stayed fixated on the blond’s. She approached the man, “It's so nice to finally meet you, honey.”

_Honey._

Unlike Thomas, the other guy seemed to recover more promptly as he hugged the brunet’s mother, the tiniest hint of a smile on his lips. Pulling back, he glanced at the woman in front of him briefly before focusing back on Thomas. And then, words came out of his mouth. But he might as well spoke Chinese because all Thomas’ ears were able to register was a thick, placid, _familiar_ accent.

“Nice to meet ya, too.”

Zero.

Zero beats of his heart.

It stopped.

Instead, Thomas counted seconds.

_One…_

_Two…_

_Three…_

“My mom spoke a lot about ya,” the guy looked back at the woman who welcomed him and the only coherent thought in Thomas’ mind was – _It’s him._

 _This is_ him.

Newt _is him_.

_Newt is the mysterious stranger from the forest._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, first I know I kinda lied about this being the "All Newtmas chapter" (in my defense, it WAS the initial thought)... So, I decided to stop saying what's coming next cos I obviously keep changing my goddamn mind. But don't worry guys, everything that was supposed to happen in this chapter WILL happen at some point, that much is for sure. ;)  
> Also, don't worry about the lack of Thomas' endeavors from the previous night. It'll be explained soon. :)


End file.
